A pair of clubs separated by a single point in the first phase of the Argentine Primera Division table will square off at Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez in Santa Fe as Colon host Central Cordoba on Monday.
Last week, Sabalero moved to within a point of Cordoba in 19th thanks to a 1-1 draw versus Barracas Central, while El Ferroviario lost their previous domestic affair, 1-0 against Union.
Match preview
After a less-than-ideal start to the Primera campaign, losing their opening three fixtures, Colon have settled down and found a way to earn results, dropping just two domestic outings since defeat on matchday three.
While Nestor Gorosito's men are currently on an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions at home, they have missed numerous opportunities to move up the table, squandering six points from winning positions in front of their fans, including last Sunday versus Barracas Central.
They have only captured one league fixture this season versus sides currently above them in the table, upsetting Boca Juniors 2-1 thanks to an injury-time strike from Andrew Teuten.
Their 10-match unbeaten run in this competition from February until late April has helped keep them out of relegation danger, currently sitting 14th in the coefficient table, though they have yet to win consecutive league fixtures.
Colon have never lost a match at home to Central Cordoba, nor have they conceded in those two encounters against them, winning 1-0 in the 2021 domestic campaign and blanking them 2-0 in the 2020 group stage at the Copa Maradona.
Fresh off a 3-0 victory versus Comunicaciones in the opening round of the Copa Argentina, Cordoba can extend their unbeaten run on the road to three league matches on Monday.
That kind of quality is something we have rarely seen from them domestically, with Cordoba scoring the third-fewest goals on the current campaign (12).
Under Leonardo Madelon, this group have been relatively compact away from home, conceding a goal or fewer in five of their eight league fixtures, while posting two clean sheets.
Cordoba have lost every domestic outing this season when conceding the opening goal and have failed to score on each occasion.
Since returning into the Argentine top flight for the 2019-20 season, Cordoba have been flirting with disaster, consistently finishing near the bottom of the standings and, at the moment, only narrowly above Platense in the coefficient table, averaging a mere 1.156 points since 2021.
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Team News
Colon could be without Facundo Farias again due to an ACL issue, Jorge Benitez continues to recover from a sore knee and Joaquin Ibanez is expected to miss a few more weeks with a muscle injury.
Juan Alvarez put them in the lead last Sunday versus Barracas, scoring his first of the season, only for the visitors to equalise just beyond the hour mark through Ivan Tapia, ending the home shutout streak of goalkeeper Ignacio Chicco, which lasted over two and a half matches in all competitions.
Leading goalscorer Ramon Abila has not found the back of the net in league play since notching a brace in their 2-1 victory over Velez Sarsfield in April, when Eric Meza and Baldomero Perlaza each had an assist.
Matias Laba is not expected to feature for Cordoba because of a sore hip, while Nicolas Leguizamon and Luis Miguel Rodriguez may not be ready to return until next week from an ACL and head injury, respectively.
On Wednesday at the Copa Argentina, a brace from Lucas Gamba and a goal from substitute Federico Jourdan were more than enough to send them into the next round of that competition, as Matias Mansilla collected a clean sheet.
The last time they scored domestically was in the middle of May against Barracas Central, when Gamba and Facundo Castelli found the mark in a 2-2 draw.
Colon possible starting lineup:
I. Chicco; Meza, Garces, Goltz, Teuten; Alvarez, Perlaza, Galvan, Delgado; Pierotti, Abila
Central Cordoba possible starting lineup:
Ledesma; Navas, Pereyra, Canto, Benitez; Farioli, Pitton, Kalinski, Jourdan; Gamba, Castelli
We say: Colon 1-0 Central Cordoba
We expect to see a fairly tight encounter when these sides clash, and given the Colon form at home and the fact that they have been more consistent in the attack, we will give them a slight edge on Monday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
